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fter assuming the nation'€™s highest office just a little more than a week ago, findings from a new survey reveal a high degree of public trust in its new leader, President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo.

The Jakarta-based pollster, Saiful Muljani Research and Consulting (SMRC), found in its latest survey, which was conducted between Oct. 2 and Oct. 4, that 52.8 percent of respondents were confident in Jokowi'€™s capacity to lead the country, while some 21.7 percent were very confident of his leadership ability.

'€œIf we add up the numbers, we can say that 74.5 percent of total respondents have faith in Jokowi,'€ SMRC chief researcher Djayadi Hanan said in a press briefing on Wednesday.

In the survey, the SMRC interviewed 1,520 people in 33 out of the country'€™s 34 provinces. The margin of error for the survey was 2.8 percent.

The survey found that respondents expressing confidence in Jokowi came from a variety of age groups, education backgrounds and political party affiliations.

'€œThis shows that we have moved past the presidential election that divided us into two groups. People have accepted that Jokowi is the country'€™s president and the people support him,'€ Djayadi said.

Prior to the July 9 presidential election, Indonesia witnessed its most polarizing presidential campaign in the nation'€™s history, with voters continuing to exchange vitriol even after the General Elections Commission (KPU) certified the victory of Jokowi over his rival, the strong-willed former general, Lt. Gen. (ret.) Prabowo Subianto.

The conflict has now moved to the House of Representatives, where Prabowo'€™s Red-and-White Coalition now controls the House, relegating Jokowi'€™s Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P)-led coalition into a minority
position.

The rift has fueled fears of political instability.

Djayadi emphasized that Jokowi should work to maintain and capitalize on the high level of public trust to push through his key programs, which will likely be met by opposition from the House.

'€œPublic trust is very important for the current government. The public can pressure House members if they obstruct the government'€™s pro-people programs,'€ Djayadi said.

Law expert Refly Harun said that in order to sustain public support, Jokowi should begin by appointing figures of integrity to the posts of attorney general, National Police Chief, and in leadership positions at other law enforcement agencies.

'€œThe attorney general and the National Police chief should not have ties to political parties so as to avoid conflicts of interest. Also, its better if Jokowi appoints an attorney general who is an outsider,'€ Refly said.

Refly also warned Jokowi not to allow members of his family to engage in business activities that were prone to corruption.

He added that Jokowi should throw his support behind the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) in its antigraft campaign, something that former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono failed to do.

'€œDuring the Yudhoyono era, Yudhoyono did not show support to the KPK during its prolonged dispute with the National Police. He decided to take action only after being pressured by the public,'€ Refly said.

Relations between the two law enforcement institutions reached their nadir in July 2012, when the KPK named Insp. Gen. Djoko Susilo a suspect in a driving simulator graft scandal at the National Police Traffic Corps. The police responded by recalling investigators assigned to the KPK, even though their tenures had not yet expired. (idb)